Many aspects of the public image of U.S. President Barack Obama are unusual among American politicians, and stand in stark contrast to those of many of his former opponents.

During his candidacy for President, his international and biracial background was unprecedented and engendered questions of racial authenticity and religious affiliation. Obama's lack of experience on the national stage became a recurring theme used by former rivals Hillary Clinton and John McCain. His perceived combination of political savvy, calm and even temperament, and conservative support have all been credited with his ascendancy to the Presidential office.

Obama is of biracial background: the son of a Kenyan Luo father and a Kansan White American mother of English descent. With his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta and his Ivy League education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from many of the African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. In January 2007, The End of Blackness author Debra Dickerson warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise: "Lumping us all together," Dickerson wrote in Salon, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress." Film critic David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 Los Angeles Times article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "magical negro" roles played by black actors in Hollywood movies.

Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough," Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."

53% of Americans polled said that they found Obama's comments, saying that McCain and other Republicans would try to scare voters, telling them that he (Obama) "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills," to be racist.

Obama is a Christian, but July 2008 polls showed that some Americans believe incorrectly that he is Muslim or was raised Muslim (12% and 26%, respectively, in Pew and Newsweek polls). Citing the latter poll by CNN's Larry King, Obama responded, "...I wasn't raised in a Muslim home," and said that advancement of the misconception insulted Muslim Americans. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute expressed in a news report (reacting in part to a satirical New Yorker cover) that ethnic caricature involving faulty depiction of Obama's faith harms Muslim Americans, impeding their "opportunity to participate in the political process."

Publications which speculate Obama's allegedly concealed Muslim heritage include The Obama Nation (published August 1, 2008) by Jerome Corsi. His book opens with a quote by Andy Martin, who the The Nation, The Washington Post, and The New York Times have identified as the primary source for the allegations that Obama is concealing an alleged Muslim faith.

A post-2008 election poll by FactCheck.org found that only 40% of Americans could successfully identify Obama as a Protestant Christian.

Obama denied that the comment was on race. An aide later said that the remark was on the subject of race.

Political image

Youth and experience

In a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," Ronald Reagan speech writer and Fox News pundit Peggy Noonan advised "establishment" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still-early political career. Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."

During the 2008 election season, Barack Obama's experience has been a topic of contention. Both Democratic and Republican politicians have criticized his experience in regard to whether he's ready to be President of the United States. Since his nomination the criticism has been mostly from Republican politicians; many Democratic politicians now believe that Obama is ready. Criticism has almost exclusively centered on his readiness for the position of commander in chief as opposed to his abilities as a public servant. Hillary Clinton often stated during her unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination that Obama wouldn't be a candidate who's ready on "Day One". Since conceding the race for the nomination she has endorsed Obama. While campaigning for president, Joe Biden believed that Obama could eventually be ready for the job of president, but that at the time he wasn't ready. Biden, now Obama's vice president, has since revised his beliefs on Obama's readiness, but his quotes from the 2008 Democratic Debates have been used in campaign ads for John McCain. Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman has criticized Obama's experience and readiness, citing his response to the Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008.

Political savvy

A prominent part of Obama's political image is a belief that Obama's rhetoric and actions toward political reform are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency. In a July 2008 The New Yorker feature article, for example, Ryan Lizza wrote, "(Obama) campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist.

Elitism

Obama’s Ivy League education, combined with remarks he has made about small-town Pennsylvanians,have led to questions about elitism. Obama has responded to such questions by pointing out that he was raised by a single mother, in a family that had little money, and he used scholarships to get his education.

Temperament

As one of many points of sharp contrast between him and his 2008 opponent John McCain, Barack Obama has been perceived as having a calm and even temperament, which has been praised by former presidential candidate Chris Dodd as well as numerous media sources as "cool" and "unflappable". Bill Maher remarked on Larry King Live, "...and they [Obama and Colin Powell] have the same temperament, so even. Obama never gets too high, never gets too low - nothing rattles this guy! President? I wish he was my broker!"Speaking in support of Obama in March 2008 about his temperament and readiness to be Commander-in-Chief, retired Air Force General Merrill "Tony" McPeak referred to him as "no drama Obama" and "no shock Barack". These characterizations were picked up and continued to be used months later by other media commentators such as Andrew Sullivan, Arianna Huffington, and other news outlets.

Around the world
Obama speaking before a crowd of about 200,000 at the Berlin Victory Column in Germany on July 24, 2008

All twenty two countries covered in a September 2008 BBC poll said they would prefer to see Senator Obama elected president ahead of Republican opponent John McCain. In 17 of the 22 nations, people expected relations between the United States and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama won. More than 22,000 people were questioned by pollster GlobeScan in countries ranging from Canada to India and across Africa, Europe and South America. The margin in favor of Senator Obama ranged from 9% in India to 82% in Kenya (location of Obama's paternal ancestry), while an average of 49% across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12% preferring Senator McCain. Some four in ten did not take a view.
A similar global poll was held by Reader's Digest, with respondents "overwhelmingly" in favor of Obama from all 17 countries, including Mexico, Finland, Indonesia, Britain and Spain. Russia gave Obama the lowest score among the countries polled, but still preferred Obama over McCain with a 35% margin. An Australian poll conducted in August 2008 found that over 75% of Australians want Obama to win the presidential election, while only 10% showed support for McCain.
Similar results were found in New Zealand (65% in favor of Obama, 11% in favor of McCain), Japan (49% in favor of Obama, 13% in favor of McCain), France (65% in favor of Obama, 8% in favor of McCain), Italy (70% in favor of Obama, 15% in favor of McCain), Germany (67% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain) and the Netherlands (90% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain). The only country surveyed (other than the U.S.) where McCain's popularity rivalled Obama's was Jordan, where 22% were in favor of Obama and 23% in favor of McCain. Obama scored higher approval ratings in all 70 countries covered in an October 2008 Gallup poll, with the most favorable scores coming from Asian and European countries.
In 2007 German journalist Christoph von Marschall wrote a book entitled Barack Obama - Der schwarze Kennedy. The literal translation of its German title is "Barack Obama. The Black Kennedy". His book was a best seller in Germany, where other commentators had also compared the two Americans.In addition to this, Obama has established close relationships with prominent foreign politicians and elected officials even before his presidential candidacy, notably with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom he met in London in 2005,with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited him in Washington in 2006 as France's Interior Minister, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who spoke with Obama by telephone from Washington D.C. in 2008 (while Obama was campaigning elsewhere), as well as with Italy's Democratic Party leader, and then Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, who was welcomed in Obama's Senate office in Washington in 2005 and later wrote the introduction to Obama's The Audacity of Hope Italian edition.Depictions
Obama poses before a statue of Superman in Metropolis, Illinois

The West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie based the character of Matt Santos (portrayed by Jimmy Smits) on Obama. At the time the politician was only a state senator. Obama later met Smits. Will Smith expressed interest in portraying Obama in a film, citing his physical resemblance – particularly their ears – to the President-elect, something which Obama concurred with while discussing the possibility with Smith.
Obama became a popular subject for artists during his presidential campaign. Shepard Fairey designed posters captioned "Hope", and he was commonly depicted as a superhero. Alex Ross painted a portrait of Obama as Superman, tearing open his suit to reveal a shirt with an 'O'-symbol, while in Entertainment Weekly he was depicted as Spider-Man opposite John McCain's Batman.The association of Obama with Superman was picked up by the media and by the candidate himself: at the 2008 Al Smith Dinner, Obama joked, "Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El, to save the planet Earth." And The Washington Post titled two essays about the impact of Obama's election by Desmond Tutu and Ta-Nehisi Coates "The Man of Tomorrow", referencing a frequent sobriquet of Superman.
Marvel Comics released an special Inauguration Day comic of The Amazing Spider-Man with a picture portraying Barack Obama with Spider-Man hanging upside down behind him snapping his picture, quiping, "Hey, if you get to be on my cover, can I be on the dollar bill?" The comic also featuring a brief story where the Chameleon attempts to pose as Obama in order to be sworn in in his place, Obama subsequently shaking Spider-Man's hand in thanks and admitting that he's always been a fan despite the wall-crawler's negative public image.For copyright reasons, Marvel subsequently denied depictions of Obama as acting president in the Marvel Universe were intended to be him.
Similarities were drawn between Obama and Two-Face in the 2008 film The Dark Knight, released during Obama's campaign. The character, portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, and his time as the "white knight" district attorney – who provides hope in a demoralised city – is given major focus.Boris Johnson compared Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) in Quantum of Solace to Obama; the African-American CIA ally of James Bond is promoted to become Section Chief in South America over the previous corrupt agent.

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